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Classical Studies Department

Student News

 

In the summer, Beth Block '08 traveled to Roman Britain. Read More...

 

And here is one of the 1000 pictures CJ Kamp '08 took during his Siracusa trip. Read More...

 

Caitlin Marshall '08 writes:"This summer I participated in the Poggio Civitate field school in just south of Siena, Italy, run through Tufts University under the direction of Dr. Anthony Tuck. The Etruscan site, on a prominent hill, consists of two phases of monumental architecture with extensive terracotta architectural decoration from the Orientalizing and Archaic periods. One of the most interesting aspects of the site is its little-understood ritual destruction in the 6th century. Excavation this summer took place in the town of Vescovado, a lower-lying area in view of the hill site, revealing information about early industry in the surrounding community. Finds included loom weights, a large amount of terracotta roofing tile, Attic pottery and small amounts of black-slip, red-slip and bucchero pottery in an area that seems to have been a workshop for tile and possibly pottery from the seventh century BCE onwards. I split my time between honing my pickaxe and trowel technique in the trenches and learning how to do archaeological illustration, creating several stippled drawings of artifacts for the catalogue database. The site has its own museum, with reconstructions of the appearance of various buildings and exhibits of finds from the surrounding area, making it easy to gain familiarity with the artifacts and an appreciation for the richness of the site. When work stopped in the trenches, our work wasn’t done for the day--weekly paper topics had us scouring the museum for clues, considering the scholarship regarding the site in the magazzino, and discussing Etruscan society and religion over caffe. While in Italy I traveled to Volterra, an Etruscan town known for its urns, and visited the Villa Giulia Etruscan museum in Rome

Caitlin Marshall '08 also won a department prize to present a paper at the annual Undergraduate Conference in Classics, which will be held March 28-29, 2008 at the Department of Classics at Miami University.

Barbara Blythe '08 completed an Honors Thesis under the direction of Professor Panoussi titled "The Rape of the Bough: the Persephone Myth in Vergil's Aeneid," exploring references in the Aeneid to the rape of Persephone as detailed in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and the differences between the portrayal of Persephone in the Homeric Hymn and Proserpina in Vergil's Georgics. She argues that one can successfully employ a paradigm derived from these portraits of Persephone to illuminate the characters of Dido, Aeneas, Pallas, and Turnus.  Writing the thesis provided Barbara with a fantastic opportunity to become acquainted with philological research in preparation for graduate school.

Hogan Prize Winner Cat Dame '11 writes: "Coming to William & Mary was an intimidating experience--I would be starting at the bottom of the totem pole again, at a school where I knew I wouldn't be automatically guaranteed a spot at the top of the class anymore. When I got my Hogan acceptance letter, I relaxed a little bit. It made me feel welcome, and promised a small department within the College where I could feel at home. Adjusting to the academic aspect of W&M was harder than I expected, especially in comparison to my high school. But my advisor, Professor Panoussi of Classical Studies, has been really understanding and gave me a lot of great advice. I also had her as a teacher for my mythology course, where she was the most enthusiastic lecturer I've ever had. I placed into Latin and Greek classes that start in the second semester. Now that my first semester is drawing to a close, I can't wait until I finally get to start with them. Right now I want to be a Greek major, and I'm still deciding whether medical school or graduate school would be right for me. But luckily I know I have great advisors and support that can help me make that decision dow n the road."